Website speed optimization
Website Speed Optimization: Measured, Fixed, and Proven
A slow site loses people before they see anything, and Google uses the same speed measurements, Core Web Vitals, in its rankings. Most slow sites are slow for the same handful of reasons: oversized images, fonts that block the first paint, scripts nothing on the page uses, and layouts that jump while they load. I find which of those applies to your site, fix them in order of impact, and show you the before and after numbers.
What this fixes
The main content appears late (LCP)
Largest Contentful Paint is usually a hero image or a heading in a web font. When it is late, the cause is almost always one of three things: the image is too large, the browser finds it too late, or a font blocks the text. I find the exact element in a performance trace and fix that, instead of guessing.
The page jumps while it loads (CLS)
Layout shift comes from images and embeds without reserved space, fonts that swap at a different size, and banners that push content down. Each one can be prevented with a size, a fallback font that matches, or space held for the late element.
Taps feel slow to respond (INP)
Interaction to Next Paint measures how quickly the page reacts to a tap or click. Long JavaScript tasks, heavy third-party tags and animation running on every frame are the usual causes. I measure which interaction is slow on real devices, then split up the long tasks or move them out of the way.
How I work
The process
- Baseline from real dataSearch Console's Core Web Vitals report and Chrome UX data where your traffic allows, plus Lighthouse runs on your key templates. That is the before picture.
- Find the causesPerformance traces on a mid-range phone profile, a list of every script and what it costs, and image and font checks per template.
- Fix in order of impactThe biggest wins come first, usually images, fonts and unused scripts. Each fix lands on staging and is measured before it goes live.
- Report before and afterYou get the Lighthouse scores and Core Web Vitals before and after for each template, with a plain explanation of what changed.
- Keep it fastNotes for your team on what to avoid, and an optional retainer to check new pages and plugins before they slow the site down again.
Tools
The stack
- Lighthouse and PageSpeed Insights
- Lab scores to find causes and to measure each fix.
- Search Console and Chrome UX Report
- Field data from real visitors, which is what Google ranks on.
- Chrome DevTools performance traces
- Shows exactly which element is the LCP and which task blocks input.
- next/image and responsive images
- Each image sized for the slot it fills, in modern formats.
- WordPress and Next.js
- I fix both, from plugin and theme weight to client JavaScript bundles.
Closest examples
Live sites you can check yourself
Every one of these is in production. Click through and judge it.
i2D
Digital agency website with custom templates and GSAP
Ways to work together
Pick whichever fits the work
Price depends on scope, so it comes after the first call rather than off a menu.
Fixed-price project
A defined build with a clear finish line
- One agreed price, set before work starts
- Milestones with a payment against each
- Scope in writing, changes quoted separately
- Best when you know roughly what you need
Hourly
Work that cannot be scoped up front
- Joining an existing codebase
- Debugging, audits and one-off fixes
- Exploratory work where the shape is unclear
- Time logged and reported, no minimum block
Monthly retainer
A site that needs someone on it every month
- A set block of hours each month
- Priority over ad-hoc requests
- Updates, fixes and small features
- Someone who already knows the codebase
Before you ask
Common questions
Do you need to rebuild my site to make it fast?
Usually not. Most of the gain comes from images, fonts, unused scripts and caching, which can be fixed on the existing site. A rebuild only makes sense when the theme or page builder itself is the bottleneck.
Can you guarantee a 100 Lighthouse score?
No, and be wary of anyone who does. Lab scores vary between runs and third-party tags you need can cost points. What I can promise is that the biggest causes get fixed and you see measured before and after numbers.
Does site speed affect Google rankings?
Yes. Core Web Vitals are part of how Google evaluates pages, and slow pages also lose visitors before they convert, which hurts the business directly.
Do you work on WordPress, Next.js or both?
Both. On WordPress the usual causes are page builders, plugins and images. On Next.js it is often client JavaScript, image sizing and third-party scripts.
How quickly will I see results?
Lighthouse scores change as soon as fixes go live. Google's field data is a rolling 28-day average, so Search Console takes about a month to fully reflect the improvement.
Need this built? Let's talk
Tell me what the site needs to do. You get a written scope and a fixed quote, including an honest answer if a smaller fix would do the job.
Start a conversation →